In these difficult economic times restaurant chains are faced with reduced customer visits, while fixed costs continue to rise.This translates into rapidly increasing cost per customer. Restaurants seeking a competitive edge must find ways to improve the customer experience while keeping costs under control. Multi‐Link,Inc. has provided cost‐saving solutions for many top restaurants and chains including Yum! Brands, Applebee’s, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s International.
One of the key elements of success for restaurant owners, as well as franchise operations, has been the development of IT applications designed to improve the customer experience while making the store operation more efficient. Automation applications, such as Point of Sale reporting, provide daily consolidation of revenue and inventory reports. An in store fax machine can improve customer service and be an important business tool, but the support cost of dedicated phone lines can be expensive and often are not necessary.
In a recent interview Bill Hyde, Vice Chairman of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, said “In today’s uncertain and ever changing environment, management’s ability to identify and manage cost could be the difference between a profit or loss at the restaurant level. Any investment with a short payback period that is associated with cost controls is one that merits attention.”
Frequently service vendors expect a separate phone line in place dedicated to each new application. Many stores find that a phone line requires approximately $500 in sales per month just to cover this fixed cost, which dramatically affects the bottom line. Ironically, as new innovations come on line monthly expenses sky rocket.
The restaurant reduces the number of phone lines necessary to support branch operations. Usually, through the implementation of line sharing technology, each location is able to reduce the requirement for two phone lines, saving $100 per month /$1,200 a year per restaurant. These are real and consistant savings every year for many years.
Now there is an innovative way to control the rise in operational expenses while still improving the customer experience. Installing The Stick®, line sharing device at each restaurant reduces the number of phone lines necessary to support branch operations. Many times each location is able to reduce the requirement for two phone lines, saving $100 per month / $1200 a year per restaurant.
The Stick provides a unique multi-device capability. Incoming calls are automatically routed to phones, faxes, or modems. Now only one phone line is required, saving hundreds of dollars per year at each branch.
Example1: One nationwide franchise operator, with over 600 outlets, has used The Stick to consolidate their POS, fax and phone lines, saving over $500,000 per year. With a return on investment of around 90 days the decision to deploy The Stick is easy.
Example2: An international franchiser has over 4,000 sites. With an extensive network of IT applications, including POS, security DVR, fax machines, and window service timers, costs were skyrocketing. The Stick facilitates remote access, polling, and normal in/out bound transactions, saving over $2,400,000 per year.
In today’s economic environment successful restaurant operations will require innovative solutions to maintain their competitive advantage. New back office IT applications can help provide that advantage, but can also introduce new costs. By carefully examining the requirements of branch operations it is possible to save thousands of dollars in annual operational costs.
When considering The Stick © for use in your remote location, it may be wise to first consider the cost of operating with out them. Below is a chart outlining the cost of adding two dedicated data phone lines per remote location in a 100-unit retail chain. The cost savings have been extended from one to three and five years.
| # of lines | $ per line | Monthly $ per Location | Yearly $ per Location | Yearly $ per 100 Locations | 3 Year $ per 100 Locations | 5 Year $ per 100 Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $ 30 | $ 60 | $ 720 | $ 72,000 | $ 216,000 | $ 360,000 |
| 2 | $ 40 | $ 80 | $ 960 | $ 96,000 | $ 288,000 | $ 480,000 |
| 2 | $ 50 | $ 100 | $ 1200 | $ 120,000 | $ 360,000 | $ 600,000 |
| 2 | $ 60 | $ 120 | $ 1440 | $ 144,000 | $ 432,000 | $ 720,000 |
| 2 | $ 70 | $ 140 | $ 1680 | $ 168,000 | $ 504,000 | $ 840,000 |
| 2 | $ 80 | $ 160 | $ 1920 | $ 192,000 | $ 576,000 | $ 960,000 |
Model Number: STK29112 Input Power Requirements Power Consumption: 6.2 Watts Physical: 8.2" L x 1.45" D x 2.5" H, 1 lb |
Device Interface Battery: 48 Volts Nominal DC to all devices Ringing No Load: Approximately 82.8 Volts RMS AC |
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Multi‐Link Inc. makes affordable, cost cutting telecom equipment for a wide variety of commercial, government, and residential applications. With 22years of experience, we have earned a reputation as a leading manufacturer of money saving telecom solutions. Hundreds of companies, from SOHO to Fortune 1000, domestic and international, have installed thousands of our products to reduce monthly phone bills and associated costs.
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Copyright© Multi‐Link, Inc. 2010.THE STICK® is a registered trademark of Multi‐Link,Inc. All trademarks and copyrights are owned by their respective companies.